acing them into our allegedly special programs.” (Dunn, p299-237) Dunn argued that special educators should assume fundamentally new roles. They should work with general education teachers, providing them with resources and consultation. In doing that, many students could remain in general education and avoid separate placements all together. In advocating mainstreaming for those with mild disabilities, Dunn also emphasized the importance of special education placement rather than exclusion for those students with severe disabilities. As previously stated, children with more pronounced or severe disabilities were considered outcasts and excluded from school altogether. Dunn also questioned the need for disability labeling. Instead, he suggested using labels that describe the nature of the education that the student was going to receive, such as language or cognitive development. Dunn’s ideas caused educators to become more aware of the needs for non-discriminatory assessments and placement in general education settings. In 1970, another activist, Evelyn Deno, published an article, “Special Education as Developmental Capital”. She was committed to making schools more responsive to diversity among children. Deno challenged that the special education system should improve the effectiveness of public school education for all students. Deno offered the concept of a cascade of services to reshape the school system. “The cascade system is designed to make available whatever different-from-the- mainstream kind of setting is required to control the warning variables deemed critical for the individual case.” (Deno, p5-22) Deno’s major argument was in favor of individualized, student-centered education and against system-centered sorting. It was the blueprint for the placement options that are major parts of federal and state special education laws and practices. In 1972, James...
